Utah 2017-18 Utah Weather & Conditions

[tromano]

I stopped to take a look at the run off as I was leaving. Here is a pic from Below penny lane where the draw crosses the access road.

 

[tromano]

I have a dilemma for my Utah brethren:

I have the next two weeks off between jobs. I was hoping to go skiing the week of April 1st, but it's looking like a high pressure ridge is preventing precipitation in the longer term outlook. Getting some fresh snow would be nice. I could try an book a last minute flight to Utah for Sunday with the goal of skiing on Monday after the fresh snow over the weekend. And then I would stay for a few more days. Thoughts?

Sounds like a good plan.

 

[AmyPJ]

Hey @4ster, wth is porn snow?!
Hope to get up tomorrow. No aspirations to go off-piste unless it proves to be better than what it sounds.

 

[4ster]

Hey @4ster, wth is porn snow?!

Powder on Corn=Pornsnow, the new snow insulates the old snow underneath. Today was a little different cuz it was kinda heavy to call it powder & the base was more like rain slush than corn but it skied the same. What ruined the snow today was a misty rain that began around noon. It didn’t take long for the new snow, at least on the lower mountain, to turn to Elmer’s glue.

Hard to say what tomorrow’s conditions will be

 

[AmyPJ]

Powder on Corn=Pornsnow, the new snow insulates the old snow underneath. Today was a little different cuz it was kinda heavy to call it powder & the base was more like rain slush than corn but it skied the same. What ruined the snow today was a misty rain that began around noon. It didn’t take long for the new snow, at least on the lower mountain, to turn to Elmer’s glue.

Hard to say what tomorrow’s conditions will be

LOL!
I really wish I could have gotten up there to ski it, I was pretty curious how it would ski. It rained HARD for quite a long time last night. Should freeze tonight. Could be a skating rink tomorrow! We'll be up to find out. I'll throw the quiver in the car, because who knows what we'll find!

 

[tromano]

Skiing the beav tomorrow.

 

[AmyPJ]

Skiing the beav tomorrow.

Fun!!

 

[DonC]

Work etc. has kept scuttling my plans for getting out to Utah this year. I'm now thinking about some spring skiing for my b-day and am looking for input:
April 19: Snowbird, 20-22: Alta, 23: Snowbird.
Any thoughts? Does Alta get really crowded on those last weekend openings?
Thanks.

 

[RJS]

I skied Brighton today for the first time. I'll be honest and say that Brighton is probably the Utah resort I looked forward to skiing for the first time the least, behind Snowbird, Solitude, and Snowbasin, but I had a lot of fun! No lines today, I rode up by myself almost every time. It was snowing on and off with clouds, so I didn't get many good views, but from what I saw the mountain itself is gorgeous.

The Milli side was really fun. Soft snow with 2-3 inches of wind-buffed snow on top in places. I did one run on Great Western and regretted it. Dust on crust. I'm not sure if the difference was aspect, NE on Milli and SW on Great Western, or if it had more to do with where the wind deposits or blows off snow?

 

[RJS]

I skied at Alta today. Like yesterday at Brighton, there were areas with wind buffed snow that skied really well. I spent almost the whole day in the Ballroom/Baldy Shoulder area, where in places there was 3" or more of wind buffed snow! So much fun. People were very friendly on the lift and in the lodge. I thought about hitting up the Castle, which would have been super fun if the conditions were similar to Ballroom, but didn't get a chance to.

Yellow Trail Area / East Greeley Area got pretty soft by the end of the day. The one thing that I don't like about Alta: the trail map. Having to constantly reference the numbers isn't fun, and sometimes I find it hard to figure out where certain trails end and others begin.

East Baldy was closed today. If they open it up tomorrow it might be a good place to get some fresh tracks (not powder, but soft snow). I'm not sure how warm the summit got today and if there's going to be a freeze/thaw.

I think Alta is probably my favorite of the Utah mountains I've skied at. The more time I spent here, the more I like it. If I knew Snowbird better that might tip the scales. I will say that I appreciate the more laid back attitude at Alta vs. the more intense attitude at Snowbird. Maybe that's me stereotyping? I am missing the food at Deer Valley everywhere else I go .

 

[tromano]

Still some goods to be had closing weekend at snowbasin.

 

[dbostedo]

^^^^
Holy #$%@! That looks awesome.... what run/area is that?

 

[tromano]

^^^^
Holy #$%@! That looks awesome.... what run/area is that?

That was in Mt. Ogden Bowl. You can see the guy in the back ground, he is on the hike in from JP.

 

[4ster]

Still some goods to be had closing weekend at snowbasin.
View attachment 44031

Lol, that’s where I ejected on a rock a few weeks ago with you
I maybe should have hung out another week

 

[tromano]

Lol, that’s where I ejected on a rock a few weeks ago with you
I maybe should have hung out another week

Yep, same spot.

I think you missed one good storm. The rain last weekend kinda did things in on the lower part of the mountain. Skiing was good Friday. But we just lucked into that rope drop this morning.

 

[Kyle]

Thursday was really nice as well and nobody was skiing for most of the morning. It was windy so you had to avoid the exposed ridges but skied really nicely. Patrol said it snowed 6 inches in less than two hours just before it opened after 3 inches had fallen overnight.

I enjoyed today as well. It was really nice for the first couple of hours but I had to leave after watching a bit of the pond skim. Nice way to end the season.

 

[AmyPJ]

Yes, Saturday was GREAT! I guess I'm also getting some confidence--skied Wildflower, Grizzly, Pork Barrel 3X, Pineview. All with my daughter in tow. Or, maybe I should say with my daughter leading the way.
Mission accomplished for this season: Get my confidence back on steeps. (see the fear thread.) One more day of fun, then tailgate, then hit either Alta or Targhee next weekend.

 

[Kyle]

skied Wildflower, Grizzly, Pork Barrel 3X, Pineview. All with my daughter in tow. Or, maybe I should say with my daughter leading the way.

Good for you and her. I skied all those runs as well and they all skied really well. Did you ski that middle pitch on 119 that they groomed? It was really nice as well and I have never seen it groomed before. Between that and some of the off trail stuff on the upper mountain it made for a nice sen off to the season.

 

[tromano]

Good for you and her. I skied all those runs as well and they all skied really well. Did you ski that middle pitch on 119 that they groomed? It was really nice as well and I have never seen it groomed before. Between that and some of the off trail stuff on the upper mountain it made for a nice sen off to the season.

It was odd to see 119 and porkbarrel groomed. But the snow was great and it stayed good until my last run at 4pm. It was nice to ski all day in april and not get chased by sticky snow.

 

[AmyPJ]

Didn't ski the middle pitch of 119, because I wasn't aware! We would have absolutely done that had we known. Never did ride Middle Bowl on Saturday.
Yesterday early was also great. And now, the end-of-season sadness is in full force. Winter can officially end now! It's time to bike!